ERP implementations can be intensive projects for teams to undertake, given that ERP touches all parts of a business. Managed well, it’ll be a key process that not only provides you with suitable technology for your next stage of business but helps you audit your business and refine processes. However, there are some common ERP hassles to overcome.
As with any major project, there will be unanticipated roadblocks and obstacles. These could impact your implementation process in the long run if not properly addressed.
One example is if employees depend on a particular tool that was incorrectly designed, or face impacts that were never anticipated or accounted for, they may revert to wasteful workarounds to cope in the new environment.
If there are no workarounds efforts might be stopped completely, which in turn means that company time and resources are going to waste.
Here are some of the common ERP hassles, how to overcome them and some tips to keep your project flowing smoothly.
Data migration
Your data is key but with a new system, it needs data needs to be extracted and then imported which often is a painstaking process, especially when trying to consolidate physical files, invoices and receipts.
Luckily for our customers that implement with NetSuite, we provide a full set of excel templates during the first few weeks of the project that gives you lots of time to export your current data into Excel. As a bonus of working with us, once your data is in the provided excel templates we help import the data for you using the NetSuite CSV wizard.
Integration
Five years ago it was quite common to build integration from scratch once again this process was often quite painstaking. At Ogg, we use the latest tech stacks to jump straight to the mapping phase so we provide a quicker ROI and don’t waste your money reinventing the wheel.
It’s also helpful if you can have people on hand to review and test the implementation as they go. Depending on your implementation, along with a project manager, it’s also good to have a person from each department touching NetSuite to represent and test on that department’s behalf.
Preparing for roadblocks
Let end-users know that there will be some issues and that the project team is equipped to deal with any challenges. There is no such thing as a perfect launch, making sure that all expectations are managed minimises the ‘shock’ impact of any surprise roadblocks.
Having efficient and open feedback channels allow you to stay on top of any issues as they arise, this minimises the time it takes to find a fix. This also lets users know that they are heard and that a fix is a top priority, rather than them stumbling in the dark believing the worst.
These are just a few of the common ERP hassles and roadblocks to keep in mind. ERP is extremely complex and so we definitely recommend working with your solutions provider or an external partner to ensure that there are nos surprises waiting down the road for your business.
If you want a more in-depth look at the ERP implementation process you can download our guide here.